ADB/NIB merger in the offing; Finance Minister hints

The Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has hinted of a possible merger between National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to form the National Development Bank announced in the 2018 budget.

He said at a post budget forum Wednesday morning that, a merger of the two publicly owned banks could help create a development-oriented bank that can then finance the government’s vision of transforming the economy through increased investments in agriculture and industrialisation.

“We could also look at a possible merger between the NIB and ADB into the National Development Bank to actually finance development through agriculture and industry,” he said at the PwC Post Budget Forum in Accra.He added that the successful establishment of the new bank would help aid in the realisation of the government’s agenda to create a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid.’

A merger between NIB and ADB would amount to a reunion, given that ADB was plugged out of NIB’s agricultural department.

Graphic Online understands that the government is looking at recapitalising the proposed development bank to the tune of GH₵1 billion to GH₵2 billion.

The bank will then serve as a source of patient, low cost and long term capital to businesses in the agricultural and industrial sector, where investments are mostly long term and capital intensive.

Beyond setting up the development bank, the minister said the government was also looking at setting up about “four to five big local banks” that can support economic transformation.